This patent application is a divisional of Ser. No. 10/354,491, filed on Jan. 29, 2003, entitled, SYSTEM FOR JOINING SECTIONS OF COMPOSITE REINFORCED LINE PIPE.
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of composite materials. In particular, the invention relates to long distance pipelines reinforced with a composite wrap for use with high-pressure fluids and gases.
2. Related Art
High pressure fluid and gas transport systems exist for the movement of e.g., natural gas and other fluids from the field to market. All metal pipelines provide a traditional system solution, but are becoming more expensive to manufacture and install as the pressure and distance requirements increase over time. As the pressure requirements increases, so to does the weight per foot of the pipelines. Transport and installation becomes more difficult as the weight of these pipes increases. The pipelines also suffer from vulnerability to physical damage during transport and to catastrophic crack propagation. Other challenges include corrosion due to the environment and stress corrosion caused by reaction of the transported gas or fluid with the material of the pressure vessel or the pipeline material with the external soil.
Traditional practice attempting balance the economics of gas transport and pipe manufacturing focuses on producing stronger and stronger pipe steel with thinner wall thickness and greater diameter. Unfortunately, these stronger steels tend to suffer from increased brittleness, corrosion, and difficulties associated with welding, bending and laying during installation.